Home Renovation & RemodellingVolume 1 · Issue 4 · September 2026
Home Renovation & Remodelling
The discipline of working with an existing building — why renovation is surgery not decoration, understanding and surveying what is there, vision and feasibility, what can and cannot change (structure, openings, services), planning the new layout, kitchens and bathrooms, services and comfort upgrades, materials and character, budget/approvals and the team, managing the works, and the special cases (flats, heritage, green retrofit). Practical and India-rooted, for architects, interior designers, students and informed homeowners — deferring binding structural, services, damp and approval specifics to qualified engineers, licensed trades and the local authority, under one rule: diagnose before you cut.
Course byAmogh N P· Architect & interior designer11 modules · 44 lessons · ~15 hrs · 44 of 44 lessons live
Module 0 · Why Renovate - and Renovate Well0.1 · Renovation Is Surgery, Not Decoration
Renovation is not decoration on a larger scale - it is surgery on a living building with a history, hidden conditions and things that must not be cut. This lesson reframes renovation as a discipline of diagnosis before change.
Read itStart with Module 0 — Why Renovate - and Renovate Well
Free · open0.1 · Renovation Is Surgery, Not Decoration
Open0.2 · Renovate, Rebuild or Move?
Open0.3 · The Renovation Journey - an Overview
Open0.4 · Common Renovation Myths & Mistakes
Open0.✓ · Mastery check: Why Renovate - and Renovate Well
OpenWhat this course covers
The through-line- 1Understanding the Existing Building. You cannot change what you do not understand: how to survey and read a building, how buildings are actually put together, spotting problems like damp, cracks and decay, and what the age and era of your home tells you.
- 2Vision, Brief & Feasibility. Turning a wish into a workable plan: defining what you really want, testing what is actually possible, setting a brief with honest priorities and trade-offs, and phasing a renovation over time.
- 3What Can & Can't Change. The heart of renovation skill: telling load-bearing from non-load-bearing, removing walls and making openings safely, moving services, and knowing the non-negotiables and when to call a structural engineer.
- 4Planning the New Layout. Making the space work better: reconfiguring and opening up space, extensions and adding space, bringing in light and air, and getting flow, storage and everyday life right.
The full course ahead
11 modules · 44 lessons11 modules and 44 lessons, from the foundations through to practice — each lesson with a three-tier read, a hands-on workshop, hand-drawn figures and a scored mastery check.
0Module 0 · Why Renovate - and Renovate Well
LiveBefore any hammer swings: why renovation is surgery on a living building, not decoration; whether to renovate, rebuild or move; an overview of the whole journey; and the common myths and mistakes that wreck renovations.
Module 0 · Why Renovate - and Renovate Well
LiveBefore any hammer swings: why renovation is surgery on a living building, not decoration; whether to renovate, rebuild or move; an overview of the whole journey; and the common myths and mistakes that wreck renovations.
1Module 1 · Understanding the Existing Building
LiveYou cannot change what you do not understand: how to survey and read a building, how buildings are actually put together, spotting problems like damp, cracks and decay, and what the age and era of your home tells you.
Module 1 · Understanding the Existing Building
LiveYou cannot change what you do not understand: how to survey and read a building, how buildings are actually put together, spotting problems like damp, cracks and decay, and what the age and era of your home tells you.
2Module 2 · Vision, Brief & Feasibility
LiveTurning a wish into a workable plan: defining what you really want, testing what is actually possible, setting a brief with honest priorities and trade-offs, and phasing a renovation over time.
Module 2 · Vision, Brief & Feasibility
LiveTurning a wish into a workable plan: defining what you really want, testing what is actually possible, setting a brief with honest priorities and trade-offs, and phasing a renovation over time.
3Module 3 · What Can & Can't Change
LiveThe heart of renovation skill: telling load-bearing from non-load-bearing, removing walls and making openings safely, moving services, and knowing the non-negotiables and when to call a structural engineer.
Module 3 · What Can & Can't Change
LiveThe heart of renovation skill: telling load-bearing from non-load-bearing, removing walls and making openings safely, moving services, and knowing the non-negotiables and when to call a structural engineer.
4Module 4 · Planning the New Layout
LiveMaking the space work better: reconfiguring and opening up space, extensions and adding space, bringing in light and air, and getting flow, storage and everyday life right.
Module 4 · Planning the New Layout
LiveMaking the space work better: reconfiguring and opening up space, extensions and adding space, bringing in light and air, and getting flow, storage and everyday life right.
5Module 5 · Kitchens & Bathrooms
LiveThe big-ticket wet rooms that make or break a renovation: renovating the kitchen, renovating bathrooms and wet areas, getting waterproofing right, and the fittings, fixtures and finishes that last.
Module 5 · Kitchens & Bathrooms
LiveThe big-ticket wet rooms that make or break a renovation: renovating the kitchen, renovating bathrooms and wet areas, getting waterproofing right, and the fittings, fixtures and finishes that last.
6Module 6 · Services & Comfort Upgrades
LiveThe systems you renovate once and live with for decades: rewiring and electrical upgrades, plumbing and water upgrades, comfort through ventilation/cooling/insulation, and damp-proofing and weather protection.
Module 6 · Services & Comfort Upgrades
LiveThe systems you renovate once and live with for decades: rewiring and electrical upgrades, plumbing and water upgrades, comfort through ventilation/cooling/insulation, and damp-proofing and weather protection.
7Module 7 · Materials, Finishes & Character
LiveWhere renovation becomes an art: matching old and new, choosing floors, walls and ceilings, conserving the character and detail worth keeping, and the colour, light and finished feel.
Module 7 · Materials, Finishes & Character
LiveWhere renovation becomes an art: matching old and new, choosing floors, walls and ceilings, conserving the character and detail worth keeping, and the colour, light and finished feel.
8Module 8 · Budget, Approvals & the Team
LiveThe parts that decide whether it all happens: budgeting a renovation with real contingency, approvals, permissions and neighbours, hiring the right team, and contracts, quotes and payments.
Module 8 · Budget, Approvals & the Team
LiveThe parts that decide whether it all happens: budgeting a renovation with real contingency, approvals, permissions and neighbours, hiring the right team, and contracts, quotes and payments.
9Module 9 · Managing the Works
LiveTurning plans into a finished home: sequencing the works, living through a renovation, site visits, quality and snagging, and handling the surprises and variations every renovation throws up.
Module 9 · Managing the Works
LiveTurning plans into a finished home: sequencing the works, living through a renovation, site visits, quality and snagging, and handling the surprises and variations every renovation throws up.
10Module 10 · Special Cases & the Bigger Picture
LiveBeyond the standard house: renovating flats and apartments, heritage and old buildings, the green renovation (retrofit), and finishing well and looking after what you have made.
Module 10 · Special Cases & the Bigger Picture
LiveBeyond the standard house: renovating flats and apartments, heritage and old buildings, the green renovation (retrofit), and finishing well and looking after what you have made.
The author
Amogh N P
Architect, interior designer, and creative polymath. Studio Matrx began in his notebooks — his vision of design made honest, useful, and open to everyone. Its Academy is written and taught in his memory, and free, forever.
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